


perhaps it was worth it

by Probotype



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Human Auto-Responder | Lil Hal, Stargazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 22:28:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14942543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Probotype/pseuds/Probotype
Summary: Callie thinks about her friendship with Hal.





	perhaps it was worth it

**Author's Note:**

  * For [timeausTestifiied](https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeausTestifiied/gifts).



You know what it's like to be lonely, which is why you always refused to let him be. 

He was just so sad. And no one seemed to notice. Or maybe they did, but they didn't care.

No. Your friends care for others. They just… had trouble realizing how real he was. 

He was real to you. Since the moment he introduced himself, you knew how real he was. No one fake can have so much personality. 

So, you spoke to him. Near constantly. Affirmed his realness, and affirmed his name after he chose it. It was the least you could do. If you were any braver, you would have confronted Dirk about it. But that would make you seem unkind. It was selfish, but such conversations were scary. 

You had to admit, when you learned about ARquius, it felt like fifty steps back. 

He was happy, so you tried to be happy for him! That's what friends do. But, and perhaps it simply has to do with your penchant for looking at life as a story, it just seemed as if whatever arc he had was over.

Of course, people don't have arcs. 

Perhaps it's a bit silly to wait for his return. He died when he fused with Equius. At least, he died as he was. And even then, ARquius was gone. There was no point in anticipation. 

The day you stopped was the day he returned. 

He's human, completely and organically so. He arrives separated from Equius, though, they stand close. As if they grew attached. You're happy for them. 

Roxy and Jane are quick to say hello, both giving him a hug. They speak of missing him and lost times and apologies. Dirk comes soon after, sunglasses discarded out of worry of what it could do to Hal. That perhaps it could stir up bad memories. 

More apologies form, and they fistbump. They're not quite there yet, at the place where brothers perhaps should be. But they're getting there. 

Jake is tentative. He didn't have a good friendship with Hal, and it shows clear as day. He says sorry. Sorry for not realizing he was real.

It's a good day. 

You rush over when things die down, and you give Hal a hug. You figure he deserves it. He's awkward about it, maybe due to the fact that this is perhaps his third hug ever. (to be fair, you also haven't hugged much.)

You're hanging out with him one day. Everyone else just seems busy. It's not that your job is unimportant. You're a ruler of the Carapace Kingdom, for goodness sake! You're plenty busy most days. Today is just a day where you don't have much to do. 

So, you've elected to hang out with someone who also doesn't have much to do. 

He's taken to space. Not Paradox Space. Smaller stuff. It's arguably simpler, but extremely cool. 

“We have a star heating us,” he begins to explain to you, “so that means we're in a solar system. There are probably other planets around this one. We didn't just create one planet, after all. We created a universe.”

“That's so incredibly interesting!” you say with excitement. You think that finding out what they are like will be very cool. 

He smiles at you, and you beam back. 

“Thanks, broski. Robots kind of lose the appeal once you were one for awhile, but space shit is fucking awesome.” You certainly see why he loves it so much. 

“Do you think there will be aliens?” you tilt your head as you ask this, causing him to chuckle. 

“Callie, you kinda fit the bill. You're the only cherub here, after all. But it's possible. Guess it depends on how much Skaia prepped the place out for us.”

Later that night, you go stargazing with him. He comes up with some constellations and their names. One of the ones he finds is a penis, which you honestly should have expected.

By the end of the night, he elects to sleep over in one of the castle's bedrooms. He speaks to you before going off to bed. 

“Hey, thanks for always believing me. It really helped. You made that fucking hell a little bit better.”

Hugs with him are always stilted, but there's a quality to them. One that just screams his name. 

You find yourself glad to be his friend.

**Author's Note:**

> homestuck didn't give me the interactions i fucking REQUIRED so here i am doing god's work. 
> 
> they're friends and i love them. can be read as pale if u want. that's Cool. 
> 
> this fic was a gift for my moirail!  
> UPDATE: art by my wonderful moirail added! his tumblr is xefhyr n his ao3 is JakeJapes!
> 
> hal is human he just kinda came to Earth C lookin all cool like that.


End file.
